The Air Force Academy caves instantly when atheists attack

Among the many virtues that flow from recognizing God’s existence is humility. Without God, every man begins to think of himself as his own little deity, leaving him free to set his own rules and, if his rules call for it, to hold the power of life and death over others. For that reason, Americans are singularly fortunate that the vast majority of troops in our military hew to traditional Judeo-Christian religious principles that see them subordinating themselves to a Higher Power’s dictates about morality, justice, and grace.

If the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (“MRFF”) has its way, though, the Air Force Academy is going to kick God out of its precincts. The MRFF, founded and controlled by the fanatically anti-Christian Mikey Weinstein, is up in arms about the fact that the Air Force Academy’s current oath invokes God: “We will not lie, steal or cheat nor tolerate among us anyone who does. Furthermore, I resolve to do my duty and live honorably, so help me God.”

If Weinstein and the MRFF have their way, and the Air Force decides to amend, rather than just do away with, the old oath, the new oath would essentially read “We will not lie, steal or cheat nor tolerate among us anyone who does. Furthermore, I resolve to do my duty and live honorably, so help me Me.” It’s that last clause that’s frightening. Without the Higher Power, each student at the academy essentially becomes his own moral arbiter, doing whatever he thinks is right at any given moment.

There are always going to be anti-religious fanatics like Weinstein, so he’s not really that interesting. What is interesting is that the Air Force Academy is actually giving serious consideration to Weinstein’s demands. In response to the MRFF’s complaint, the Academy’s Honor Review Committee, instead of sneering and laughing, is giving the demand serious consideration.

Maj. Brus Vidal, the Public Affairs Director, issued a formal statement to that effect: “They considered a range of options and some of those options will be presented to Academy leaders and, ultimately, the Academy Superintendent for a decision.”

It was a mischievous newspaper that brought the censorious Weinstein’s attention to the Academy. Last week, a local newspaper, the Colorado Springs Independent (the Academy is located just north of Colorado Springs), printed a picture of a poster hanging on the Academy’s walls that contained the oath. The newspaper than decided to stir up some controversy by sending that photograph to Weinstein.

Weinstein responded predictably by going ballistic. He wrote a letter to the Academy Superintendent, a woman, who equally predictably responded by backing down. A mere 68 minutes after getting his complaint, Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson wrote him “The Prep School poster has been taken down. We are assessing the situation and have many mission elements, to include Prep School leadership, the Honor Review Committee and other entities on base, working to put together a way ahead that is respectful to all perspectives.”

Ask yourself this: If we’ve created a military that is so politically correct and Leftist that it instantly backs down when an anti-Christian hack attacks it, what use is it going to be against people with actual guns and bombs, such as Islamists? Under the Obama administration’s tutelage, our military is having an existential crisis and needs a swift intervention if it’s to be saved. Once it goes full Leftie, it’s useless as a weapon against America’s true enemies.

Air Force Academy cadets are no longer required to say “so help me God” at the end of the Honor Oath, school officials said Friday.

The words were made optional after a complaint from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group, that they violated the constitutional concept of religious freedom.

Let me say again that the First Amendment doesn’t prohibit religion. Indeed, the Founders strongly approved of religion. It simply says that the government cannot create a mandatory church to which all citizens must belong or incur a penalty; it may not make practicing a specific religion a condition of participating in civic affairs; and it cannot interfere with a religion’s doctrine. The First Amendment guarantees us freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. The latter is an option, not a mandate.

I’ll end by restating my last paragraph in my Mr. Conservative post:

Ask yourself this: If we’ve created a military that is so politically correct and Leftist that it instantly backs down when an anti-Christian hack attacks it, what use is it going to be against people with actual guns and bombs, such as Islamists? Under the Obama administration’s tutelage, our military is having an existential crisis and needs a swift intervention if it’s to be saved. Once it goes full Leftie, it’s useless as a weapon against America’s true enemies.

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It took me years to learn that the US military, like any military, is populated by politicians, time servers, and bench warmers at its upper reaches. Like their clueless counterparts in the academy, these are people who have never had a real-world experience in their chosen profession. As bureaucrats, they’re content to go with the flow and preserve their retirement benefits and party-circuit social status.

A shooting war involving an existential threat to the United States—far more likely under Obama than under any president since Kennedy—would expose the military’s tapewormocracy pretty quickly. The question then would be if there remained enough intelligence and courage at the top to sweep the fools aside and let the real men fight.

Navy Bob

Today’s Navy is a “zero tolerance” environment. I suspect the other services are the same. One mistake and you are out. If not immediately then you will certainly never be promoted. Therefore in todays military not only is it populated by the politicians, timeservers and bench warmers Charles mentions but none of them have ever made a mistake and are not likely to because they never attempt to do anything that requires thought outside of the box. We all learn from our mistakes and some of us turn out quite well with the knowledge and humility our mistakes give us. Fleet Admiral Nimitz comes to mind, as an Ensign he ran his ship aground, was court-martialed and received a letter of reprimand. Never happen today.

Useless, perhaps, against America’s enemies. Very useful, however, in the hands of a Left wing totalitarian government when “internal domestic terrorists” start popping up.

“Like their clueless counterparts in the academy, these are people who have never had a real-world experience in their chosen profession.”

One of the only ways to harden and forge a real military is to have it engage in wars and win them. It’s one of the benefits of Iraq that few people talk about, because they have yet to understand the pull of dark and light in large organizations.

A military that is entirely green, from decades of peace, will suffer enormous casualties in a real war for existence. But that military, because it is green, is useful for other things. Like being loyal household troops, honor guards, parade guards, or Praetorian guards.

We can easily see the danger of what’s going on…..that given a bit more time our military will be unable to protect us against foreign enemies, of which we have many; AND that they will not be willing to protect us against domestic enemies, since they will be the tools of those enemies.

I know that the following will date me a bit…but this is the result of populating the fighting forces with those who are not suited, whether by creative or evolutionary forces, to fight. And once the military was a safe place for females, it became a safe place for girlie-men as well – and it appears to be well-supplied.

We’re doomed…so long as we stay on the current path.

Jose

Just saw this:

Obama Purging Military Commanders
Nine senior commanding generals have been fired by the Obama administration this year, leading to speculation by active and retired members of the military that a purge of its commanders is underway.

Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed.-Guess Who

It’s not like they didn’t tell us, you know. It’s not like people didn’t know if they had their heads out of the stand, you know.

The Left will determine when you die, how you die, and how much you get to pay them for the privilege of being their slave till death do you part.
It would have sounded crazy in 2007-8, what I just said now. But then again, we’re not in 2008 any more.